


hope

by smolgreeneyedavenger



Category: DCU (Comics), The Flash (TV 2014), The Flash - All Media Types
Genre: Emotions, F/M, HusbandandWife, Lightingrod, Romance, Team Flash, TimeToCry, barryallenwithabeardishot, bigbellyburger, season4
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-17
Updated: 2020-02-17
Packaged: 2021-02-27 23:15:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,649
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22774003
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/smolgreeneyedavenger/pseuds/smolgreeneyedavenger
Summary: "DeVoe had done so much to them in the last couple months and he was bound to do more in the next half year. But he hadn’t kept Barry in prison… and he hadn’t made Iris lose hope just once.Hope would always be there.And hope was stronger now more than ever, seeing it so visible in Barry’s eyes."
Relationships: Barry Allen/Iris West
Comments: 8
Kudos: 20





	hope

**Author's Note:**

> i've been watching the flash since the very first season but this is the very first fanfic i have ever written for it! barry and iris have to be one of the most beautiful and satisfying ships there is and i hope i did them justice here. i adore comments so come chat with me if you want!

She hadn’t realized how often she had dreamed of this. How often she had imagined Barry running out of the prison just to hold her close to his chest. How she would feel his skin again, kiss his lips. How they would go get Big Belly Burger afterward and he would take down at least nine lunch orders. How they would get together with the team and celebrate. How they would finally be together again.

And now it was all about to happen.

Iris stood outside of Iron Heights, waiting for her husband’s release. It would be minutes, maybe seconds, she knew, but it felt like an eternity standing there. She paced up and down beside her car, her boots scraping along the gravel. It was a cool, partly cloudy day and the shade the clouds made bought a bit of calm to her. She wasn’t sure why but she was thankful nothing bright was glaring off the large fence and polls surrounding the prison. She would be glad to see the last of this place. Soon, Barry would leave the cold walls, the stale food and the glass that always separated them.

Soon.

Iris was just making another trail across the gravel when a large bang started at the end of the building. Fences and locked doors still surrounded the wall but all the same, she could see the door open and two guards step out. She gasped and made her way toward the fence, her heartbeat quickening to a beat she didn’t know possible.

And there he was, dressed back in normal clothes, a plaid shirt over a red tee, khaki slacks and sneakers. Besides the small beard, he looked himself again. He wasn’t cuffed but the guards kept close to him as they made the trail to the entrance gate. Iris pulled her hands out of her pocket and stopped moving, everything suddenly bubbling up inside of her. Barry smiled the minute they caught eyes and she couldn’t manage anything but a sigh. A sigh of relief, of victory and of peace. The team had gotten him out of prison, he was coming home.

She could see the urgency in his features as they moved slowly towards her. He would generally speed through, she couldn’t imagine how slow these last weeks had been for him. The best thing she could only do for him was wait, be just as slow as him, and smile. Even in the second, she needed to remind him she was there, she had been strong for him, she was bringing him home. “Barry…” Iris chuckled when she saw the emotions brimming in his eyes.

_Come home to me._

They finally got to the gate and one guard handed Barry a duffle bag. Iris watched the guards’ every move in case they decided to give Barry any trouble. He hadn’t done a damn thing, he was put in prison by a lie. A huge lie DeVoe hadn’t gotten away with yet. Still, some people might not have been convinced enough. All the same, Barry took the bag with a nod as a thank you. The guard stepped back as the other unlocked the gate. Iris took a step back as the gate brought up some dust from the old gravel ground. The minute it locked open, Barry took a deep breath and stepped out onto the other side. A weight seemed to fall of his shoulders and warmth came to his face. He was free again.

He let his head back and sighed. Iris couldn’t help the tear falling down her cheek by seeing her husband again. No walls, no windows, no guards in between them. It was just Iris and Barry again.

_The gold standard…_

“Good luck, Allen,” the guard at the gate said. Barry looked back at him and the guard gave a reassuring nod. Iris sometimes forgot many of the cops probably knew him. They had known him for years as a CSI. And many of them had believed he was wrongly convicted. Barry nodded back at him and the guard turned back to close the gate again. Barry took another step back, watching the gate close behind him, finally closing away his imprisonment. The guards headed back for the building and Barry finally turned back to her.

Iris West Allen’s life always moved at the rush of speed. Being married to a speedster did that to you and more than not, she enjoyed it being that way. But at this one moment, life seemed to slow to a steady beat. And they just stared at each other for a moment. DeVoe had done so much to them in the last couple months and he was bound to do more in the next half year. But he hadn’t kept Barry in prison… and he hadn’t made Iris lose hope just once.

Hope would always be there.

And hope was stronger now more than ever, seeing it so visible in Barry’s eyes.

She wasn’t sure who made the first move but suddenly she was moving toward him and he dropped his bag as he closed the distance between them. They slowed the minute they were so close he could’ve grabbed her hand. Tears pooled in Iris’s eyes and the one chuckle sent them trailing down her cheeks. Why she was laughing now, she wasn’t sure, but it somehow made him grin too. Maybe it was over their dodge of another obstacle, that they had been strong enough to see the end, that they were the Flash and they had won again. Finally, he made another move and pulled her into his chest, his strong arms encompassing her middle and somehow pulling her closer. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and stared up at the sky, a small gasp escaping her lips. She kissed his neck and rubbed his back, the most heavy burden releasing from her chest. It had been so long since she had hugged him.

It was the best feeling in the world.

He pulled back from the hug just to come up and cup her face. She sobbed in his hands, moving her own hands to his forearms, gripping the material of his flannel. She could see tears in his own eyes but he smiled so much, they barely fell. His thumb came to cheek, wiping a few tears away. She sighed underneath his soft touch, soaking in the electric hum from his skin. She gave him her best smile before he dipped his head and pressed his lips against her own, his beard tickling against her skin. Iris moved her hands to his neck as she kissed him back, forcing everything she felt into the overdo touch; hurry, peace, joy, desire. He seemed to kiss back with the same feelings, separating their lips just to move her head and kiss her again. She would never take kissing for granted again after this. When his hands moved back to her waist, Iris finally pulled away from the kiss to look up at him, this time wiping some tears from his face.

“God, I’ve missed you,” he breathed, pressing his forehead against hers.

“You’re here, you’re safe,” she said, closing her eyes. “You’re coming home…”

“I'm already home,” he muttered, rubbing the low of her back. “You’re my home, Iris.”

“And you’re mine,” she whimpered in between the sob.

He lifted his head again, his hand coming around to settle underneath her chin. She looked up at him through the tears and his gaze upon her made her feel like she was the most precious thing on the planet. Iris adored his gaze, falling in love with it all over again. “You have been so brave. You kept me going in there. You defeated DeVoe out here, you kept the team working. No one else could’ve done it.” Iris shook her head but he just put a finger to her lips. “You, Iris… always made me believe.”

Iris smiled and rubbed his neck, swaying a bit in his arms. “I couldn’t do it without the one thing you’ve instilled in me everyday, Barry…”

He sniffed and frowned at her. “And what’s that?”

She smiled, cocking her head slightly. “Hope.” He stared at her for a moment, his eyes searching every inch of her face, and then smiled. He leaned in again and kissed her so softly. When he pulled back, she smiled at him, her tears mostly washed away. “I love you, Barry Allen.”

“I love you, Iris West Allen,” he said back to her, a chuckle escaping his lips.

Iris giggled with him and pulled her hands back from his neck. “You wanna get out of here?”

“Yeah, let’s go.” He scooped up his bag from the gravel, took one more glance at the prison, and then gripped her hand. She leaned against his arm and they walked back to the car. The sun started to break through the clouds the moment they were at the vehicle, sending bright rays against the cold stonework around. Barry smiled at her as he jumped into the driver’s seat and she threw his bag in the back seat. She got into passenger seat as he started up the engine but she just leaned over her seat to stare at him. His strong jawline, his pointy nose and now the facial hair, was definitely captivating to stare at. Her husband was there, they were going back to the team, they would stop DeVoe.

She knew they would.

They had family, they had hope, they had the Flash.

Barry reached for her hand as they drove away from the prison, another electric hum passing from his skin to hers. He smiled at her for a second before looking back at the road. “I’m starving. Wanna stop by Big Belly Burger?”

Iris chucked and looked out the window. “The best plan ever.”

**Author's Note:**

> bless you for reading! <3


End file.
